Unboxious
@Unboxious@ani.social
- Comment on Anime April Fools' Day Thread 22 hours ago:
I have no idea. I just saw it and noticed the thread for submissions was still going so I drew something up in 5 minutes with my mouse.
- Comment on Anime April Fools' Day Thread 1 day ago:
I’m proud to have contributed the one for the Medalist manga!
- Comment on Winter Anime Season Wrap-Up Discussion [2025, Week 14] 2 days ago:
Re:Zero S3 - Watched intro “movie” episode. It’s decent, but I’d forgotten so much context that it was hard to care too much.
I hear ya. I watched about 5 minutes of this and noped out until I have time to rewatch the rest of the series first. I’ll probably wait 'til Season 4.
- Comment on Winter Anime Season Wrap-Up Discussion [2025, Week 14] 2 days ago:
Things I watched this season, in no particular order:
- Apothecary Diaries Season 2 - So far it’s been just as good as season 1; I find myself looking forward to every new episode. Glad to see it continuing into the spring.
- Kill la Kill - I’m 8 episodes in and while some of the “jokes” go too far for my taste I can see why a lot of people got hyped about this show.
- From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated! - I watched the first episode. It was fun, but it didn’t hook me.
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You Season 2 - As with Season 1 this was a near-perfect adaptation of a really fun manga. I really hope this gets a third season because my favorite character hasn’t even been introduced yet. It’s certainly popular enough, but managing the voice actors is going to get impractical at some point.
- Medalist - This was the surprise anime of the season for me. Anyways, rehashing what I’ve said on it in other threads: at the start of the show I was really worried about the CGI skating from a studio that isn’t known for amazing CGI, but in the end it ended up working really well! Maybe it helps that they usually only had to make the skaters look good in isolation; during tournaments they’re skating around the middle of a big, otherwise-empty rink after all. The way Inori and her coach Tsukasa play off each other is incredibly charming, and the anime staff did a great job of capturing the facial expressions from the manga. It’s also amazing how a sports anime can feel like it has more dramatic stakes than something action-based. Maybe it’s the very real chance of failure. Maybe it’s just because it feels more grounded and realistic. Either way, nothing sucks me into the next episode like one of the characters getting ready to do a difficult jump in a tournament and everyone is watching to see what they’ll do and speculating whether they can actually do it and then the “next episode” button appears and I just can’t resist pushing it. Looking forward to the recently-announced Season 2.
- Blue Box - This is probably the first time I’ve thought an anime was too beautiful. The manga had a more grounded look to it, whereas in the anime everything is lit up with specular highlights everywhere. It can feel a little over-the-top. Still, that’s my only complaint (and it’s one that very few people seem to share with me). Overall it was a great adaptation of one of my favorite romance manga (and my favorite shounen romance manga). The first season in isolation is a little sad, but I anticipate that the recently-announced second season will get us far enough to make things cheerful again.
- Terror in Resonance - I know a lot of people really liked this one, but I didn’t care for it. It’s unclear to me why “terrorism” was the only answer for the main characters (and especially for one in particular). That whole chess airport sequence was just plain dumb.
- Akiba Maid War - Everything everyone said about this anime was true. Great stuff. If you want a cute yakuza drama comedy look no further.
- Comment on Manga Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 14] 2 days ago:
I’ve spent the last few weeks slowly reading through Medalist. It’s surprisingly dense; when they adapted it into an anime they only covered one chapter per episode and that felt about right. They’re long chapters but even so I don’t think that’s normal. Anyways, this is one you read for the character writing. The way Inori and her coach Tsukasa play off each other is incredibly charming, and the artist does a great job on facial expressions. It’s also amazing how a sports manga can feel like it has more dramatic stakes than something action-based. Maybe it’s the very real chance of failure. Maybe it’s just because it feels more grounded and realistic. Either way, nothing sucks me into the next chapter like one of the characters getting ready to do a difficult jump in a tournament and everyone is watching to see what they’ll do and speculating whether they can actually do it and then the “next chapter” button appears and I just can’t resist pushing it.
- Comment on ani.social's top 10 anime 2 days ago:
Weird to see Death Note that high up. I rewatched it a while ago and I don’t think it holds up that well. The memes are great though.
I’m also surprised to see Frieren that high up. I loved the first cour, but the second cour was merely “good” imo. It felt a lot more like a generic action shounen thing. It’s also something that’s only had a small fraction of its story animated so far.
Apart from that, well, it’s clear that I need to take the time to watch 86.
- Comment on Medalist - Episode 13 discussion 4 days ago:
At the start of the show I was really worried about the CGI skating from a studio that isn’t known for amazing CGI, but in the end it ended up working really well! Maybe it helps that they usually only had to make the skaters look good in isolation; they’re usually skating around the middle of a big rink after all.
- Comment on The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 • Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season - Episode 12 discussion 5 days ago:
I can see why my wife was excited for this episode. Jinshi sure made some faces! Poor guy got shut down twice. Sounded like he wanted to propose or something crazy at the end there too.
- Comment on What is your best supernatural anime? 6 days ago:
I think the show was already canceled in Japan, but the money for the dub was already spent
Not quite. It was actually successful in Japan but the company that localized it for a NA release was convinced that it would never be successful there without serious modifications. It actually got a much more normal English dub for its release in Singapore.
- Comment on What are your Top 10 anime? 1 week ago:
It’s hard to pick a top 10. The top 5 on this list are pretty firmly my favorites but after that there are any number of great shows that could’ve filled the latter 5 slots.
- Redline - This movie showed me that an anime doesn’t need a complex plot to be awesome.
- LOOK BACK - Really emotional story about two artists.
- Kaguya-sama: Love is War - So far this is a perfect adaptation of my favorite romance manga, and my favorite comedy manga. I didn’t want to use the term “romcom” simply because I want to emphasize that it excels on both points individually. Here’s hoping they continue on to finish the second half of the story.
- Gurren Lagann - Much like Redline, this show is just awesome.
- Skip and Loafer - Extremely charming story about a girl from the countryside getting accustomed to Tokyo life. Season 2 airs later this year so it’s a good time to catch up if you haven’t seen it!
- Bang Brave Bang Bravern! - Big gay robots.
- Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Space opera. The worse modern US politics has gotten the more depressing this show has been to watch.
- Gundam Build Fighters - The most charming Gundam show. Unfortunately some of the jokes and references won’t land unless you’ve watched an ungodly amount of not-quite-as-good older Gundam shows.
- Eureka Seven - An excellent mech anime held back a little by a slow first several episodes.
- Mob Psycho 100 - A story about a boy trying to grow up into the best version of himself he can manage.
- Comment on Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 11] 3 weeks ago:
Erased spoiler
> One thing I don’t really like is his flimsy motive for the murders This is something the manga goes into in a lot more detail, but I’m not sure having the villain’s whole backstory really improved anything tbh so I don’t mind it being cut.
- Comment on Medalist - Episode 10 discussion 3 weeks ago:
That’s quite the time skip! I guess they didn’t want to show the same story beats over and over as Inori passes each badge test.
- Comment on [DISC] Kagurabachi - Ch. 71 3 weeks ago:
That panel where she’s trying to slice her vegetables the same way her dad slices people is priceless.
- Comment on Results of the 2024 Reddit Anime Awards 3 weeks ago:
There are only two types of girls. The childhood friend and the homewrecker.
My wife and I quote that one all the time; I’m happy to see it get some recognition.
Best Drama Look Back
I see this jury knows what’s up.
- Comment on Results of the 2024 Reddit Anime Awards 3 weeks ago:
It’s really excellent! I promise it’s not just a cozy anime about cooking up dungeon critters.
- Comment on Anime with alternate orders 4 weeks ago:
The Horimiya anime originally skipped a bunch of stuff that was covered in a later season, titled “Horimiya Pieces” or something like that. If you want to watch the events in the order they happened in the manga it’s a crazy mess.
- Comment on anime that are built diffrent 4 weeks ago:
It sounds like when you say “weird” you mean absurdist, so I’ll not recommend things like “Ping Pong the Animation” even though it’s both excellent and weird.
With that said, the absurdist anime I’ve seen in roughly descending order of preference are:
- Dan Da Dan - Takes itself a little more seriously than the examples you gave, but things still get very wild.
- BOCCHI THE ROCK! - Nothing absurdist about the plot, but the animators get very creative.
- Nichijou - My Ordinary Life - Most people already know what this is, so I’ll just say that City from the same author will be releasing later this year. I haven’t read it, but odds are it’s great.
- Akiba Maid War - Maid-themed Yakuza drama.
- Space Dandy - Cowboy Bebop if all the main characters were incompetent
- Cromartie High School - High school for delinquents.
- Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead - Guy has an opportunity to finally leave his abusive company when zombies attack. He resolves to live each day as fully as possible and makes a list of things he wants to do before being turned into a zombie.
- Ghost Stores (the dub of course) - They realized this anime had no appeal as-is to a western audience so they made a batshit insane dub that only loosely follows the original story.
- Comment on [Discussion] Ruri Dragon - Ch. 30 - Aoki's Problem 4 weeks ago:
She may have a hard time blending in in normal human society but if she finds the right people she could still have a great time.
- Comment on The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You Season 2 • Kimi no Koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo 2nd Season - Episode 8 discussion 4 weeks ago:
That over-the-top opening right after Nano’s “friendship sucks” statement gave me whiplash.
- Comment on The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 • Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season - Episode 8 discussion 4 weeks ago:
It looks like he may have enjoyed painting. If so there are innumerable poisonous things he may have ingested, some of which can mess you up even in small quantities.
- Comment on [DISC] Skip and Loafer - Ch. 68 4 weeks ago:
The “performing for the monster of the past” part doesn’t make much sense to me. Was nice seeing the details of what went down in Shima’s past though.
- Comment on One Piece will survive next generation too. 4 weeks ago:
That’s like saying that Demon Slayer is similar to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure because they both use breathing techniques to harness the power of the sun to defeat man-eating undead. It’s technically true, but that doesn’t mean the experience of watching them is remotely similar.
- Comment on "A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace" New Teaser Visual, PV 4 weeks ago:
I’m interested because it reminds me of other stuff that I liked, but I’m also hesitant because it doesn’t look like the manga was particularly well-received. Still, I’ll probably watch the first episode.
- Comment on "The Rising of the Shield Hero" Season 4 New Key Visual 5 weeks ago:
There have been a few. The Vision of Escaflowne, Garzey’s Wing (I won’t claim it’s good though lmao), Spirited Away, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and The Chronicles of Narnia come to mind.
- Comment on Manga Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 09] 5 weeks ago:
This week I read the first 8 chapters of Medalist. I’d say it’s even more charming than the anime! So much text though. So. Much. Text. The illustrations are surpassingly cute, which makes up for it, but it took me ages to get through it. Just look at what you’re missing out on if you only watch the anime! I love the little illustration of Hikaru being pushed by the ice, and the manga version of the post-competition talk with Mike is way funnier to me; it reminds me of when mother cats picking up their kittens by the scruff of the neck and the kitten just has to hang there helplessly. Image Image
- Comment on Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion Thread [2025, Week 09] 5 weeks ago:
Watched the first 6 episodes of Medalist this week. I had my hesitations, but this show delivers! I still like the manga a little more, but that doesn’t stop me from looking forward to each and every episode I watch. Honestly it made me want to go ice skating but I have a cold and ice skating season is almost over. Still, maybe next week.
- Comment on Medalist - Episode 8 discussion 5 weeks ago:
It’ll make you want to go ice skating while it’s still cold.
- Comment on Can you guys recommend romance manga? 5 weeks ago:
The manga I’ve read with the most real characters by far was Skip and Loafer. It’s great! It’s one of my favorites! But honestly I’d say it’s only 1/3 romance with the other 2/3 being slice of life and coming of age. Still, I highly recommend it. The first season of the anime was also quite good, with the second season airing later this year.
If you want something where romance is a bit more of a focus I also recommend Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. It’s a story about a couple of awkward office workers who slowly develop their relationship.
My favorite romance manga though is Kaguya-sama: Love is War. These people definitely feel more like cartoon characters than people sometimes. Not in a bad way (I love how these characters are written), but their traits are pretty extreme for good and for ill. The first few chapters all follow the same basic formula, which might trick you into thinking that this manga is a one-trick pony, but it changes things up often enough that it ended up being one of the most satisfying manga I’ve ever read.
- Comment on Medalist - Episode 8 discussion 5 weeks ago:
My understanding is that she had been practicing hard all along and perfected the fundamentals
There is some truth to that, but only some. There were some really fundamental things she wasn’t familiar with, like how to glide long distances on a single skate.
- Comment on Medalist - Episode 8 discussion 5 weeks ago:
The main character syndrome is definitely strong with this one, with her being able to do dual-rotation jumps with so little practice. I have faith in the mangaka at this point to not just have her easily breeze through everything, mainly because they’ve done a great job with most other aspects.
